Elder (8 page)

Chapter 12

Zachariah couldn’t put Tate down.

He considered it when everyone sat down to await the arrival of the others. She needed to rest, and she’d probably be more comfortable in a prone position. He even bent to lay her on the ground. But he couldn’t.

His gaze settled on her face as he paced with her in his arms. Though her bruised cheeks were streaked with clay and blood, he focused on the markings around her eyes. The deep blue-green cinquefoils with red arrows running through them matched the marking on his right bicep. The markings, even more than their shared thoughts, brought home the reality of their avowing.

She was his
.

His to protect. His to marvel over. His to love.

For the first few weeks after he paired with her for her protection, he waited for her to tell him that she didn’t really love him. He waited for her to admit that her feelings were a result of their adventure together and hadn’t lasted. He even devised a plan to leave with Nyx and once again remove himself from Estilorian society. Tate couldn’t possibly love a Mercesti, he reasoned, nor did a being such as him deserve the heart of one as magnificent as her.

As though she knew his thoughts, however, Tate conveyed her love to him every chance she had. She whispered the words throughout the day, catching him off-guard more times than he could count—once right after he threw her to the ground during an intense training session. She made a point to touch him frequently, the purposeful physical contact doing more to unravel him than anything else could.

And she listened to him, even when what he had to say brought tears to her eyes. In the dark of night, as he lay on her bedroom floor in front of the door that no enemy would ever breech, he’d told her things he never thought he’d reveal to another being. Things that even
archigos
Malukali didn’t know.

Not once did Tate judge him. All she did was share herself with him, fully and unequivocally. It was all he needed. So it didn’t take much soul-searching for him to know why he didn’t want to separate from her now.

Before she was kidnapped by Knorbis, Zachariah’s role in her existence had been to see to her safety. He had failed. As a result, Tate had suffered.

He was still perplexed by the fact that she had agreed to avow with him, even if only in their dream state. He convinced himself shortly after her abduction that since he’d failed at the one thing he considered his strength, Tate’s love would surely falter. Yet, despite his failure, she had joined herself to him in the most significant way an Estilorian could.

Now, he looked at her matted hair and blood-encrusted scalp, then down at her torn clothing, remembering the attack she’d endured. He’d pressed her so hard to learn to protect herself. For weeks, they had been up and training before everyone else, staying out later than everyone else. He made her change her wardrobe to be more efficient and offer less fabric for an opponent to grab. He made her wear muted colors so she blended more with the environment around her, presenting less of a target. He made her remove her usual hair adornments, knowing the colorful beads and feathers once led Eirik’s followers right to her. She had done it all, despite his dictates being more stringent than any she’d ever faced.

But in the end, none of that had mattered. His training hadn’t helped her against Knorbis’ elixir and mental influence. It hadn’t found her a way to refuse Eirik’s blackmail demands. It hadn’t aided her in facing her attackers on her own. No being would have stood a chance against so many Mercesti. It was a miracle they hadn’t killed her.

She would never be in that position again.

He glanced up as movement caught his attention. The remaining elders had arrived. Before he took two steps toward the section of trees where everyone emerged, Sebastian broke apart from the others and approached him.

“Let’s see what we’re dealing with here,” the elder said, his lavender eyes calm as he evaluated Tate’s condition. He lifted one of the torn straps from her tank top and gave it a thoughtful study. “This is easily repaired—”

“I don’t want it repaired,” Zachariah interrupted. “You can burn the thing, as far as I’m concerned.”

Sebastian caught his gaze. After a moment, he nodded. “I see. I’ll take care of it.”

He used his abilities to remove all of the filth from Tate’s hair and skin. He changed her clothing with a wave of his hands and flash of lavender light. Then he waved his hand one more time, briefly making her hair glow. He nodded again, satisfied.

As the elder moved to attend to Ariana, Zachariah said, “Thank you,
archigos
.”

Then he stared at Tate’s face, now free of anything to mar its perfection. His chest tightened as her faint lemony scent reached him.

Her eyelids fluttered. Seeing the movement, he carried her away from the others. She slowly blinked back to awareness, easing herself up so that she was supporting some of her weight.

“Sparky,” she whispered, gazing at him as though she thought he might disappear.

Once they were alone, he stopped and lowered her to her feet. She left one hand on his shoulder and lowered the other to his waist. When part of her ensemble—a shimmery wrap—fell partway down her arm, she frowned in bewilderment and looked down. She studied her new flowing sundress comprised of vibrantly colored fabric. Poking her foot out, she spied a pair of impractical strappy sandals.

Then she reached up and touched her hair. Although she couldn’t see it, she likely felt that it was back in its usual style, completely bedecked with sparkling beads and feathers. Sebastian had added a few red beads and a couple of small braids accented with glittery red ribbons.

“You should sleep some more,” he said, tracing her lips with his thumb.

Both of her arms wrapped around his waist.
I don’t want to sleep
, she thought.

Then you should eat. They starved—

“Food can wait,” she interrupted. “You’re what I need right now, Sparky.”

He knew exactly what she meant. He wanted to bask in her, in the light she brought to his dark existence. He wanted to take her away from there and keep her from the evil threatening to steal that light.

She held his gaze for a long moment. Then she pulled him closer and kissed him.

It was as though she offered a delectable feast to a starving being. He couldn’t resist the siren-like allure of her parted lips. Backing her against the trunk of a nearby tree, he devoured her, growling low in his throat as her tongue met his.

The kiss quickly turned possessive. Ravenous.

Their hands roamed, staking claim and igniting heat. The thoughts flowing between them escalated the feelings until Zachariah knew he was crossing into dangerous territory.

Somehow, he managed to tear himself away from her tantalizing mouth. He crushed her against him as they both fought for breath.

When they had calmed themselves, Tate reached up and ran a hand through his hair. Smiling, she said, “Thanks for asking
archigos
Sebastian to clean me up. Did you pick my outfit?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Uh-huh. And you gave him the go-head on the beads and feathers?”

“He couldn’t be swayed.”

Grinning, she said, “Liar.”

She kissed him again. Although he knew he should resist, he indulged himself. But he didn’t allow things to get too carried away this time. He pulled away from her after a moment.

Brushing a stray curl out of her eyes, he said, “I have a promise to keep.”

She tilted her head in consideration. Then her eyes widened. “You really want to exchange vows with me in person?”

“That’s what I promised when you agreed to avow with me in our dreams,” he said. Then he hesitated. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”

“Of course I haven’t changed my mind. I love you, Sparky. We can get the others and—”

“My vow is to you, Beautiful. Not everyone else.”

She considered this, studying him in silence. Eventually, she smiled and said, “All right.”

He was eternally grateful that she understood him. Many other females would have insisted on having an audience for this intimate, important moment. He held her gaze to convey his appreciation. Then he spoke the vow he had issued once before.

“I, Zachariah, wish to pledge myself to you, Tate, in every possible way. You are my world now, as well as my heart. Though it may take all eternity, I will strive to prove myself worthy of your love. I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”

He lifted Tate’s hand and kissed the ring she already wore. Her eyes filled with tears. Though her voice was strained with emotion, she spoke her vow.

“I, Tate, love you, Zachariah, more than anything in the world, and want to spend the rest of my existence with you. I offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and my unbreakable commitment to you.”

She kissed his ring, then they linked their left hands and kissed to seal the vow. Once again, his pairing marking flared with pain, signifying the power of the exchange and their connection. Tate gasped against his mouth, telling him she experienced the same thing. Their vows were now unequivocally sealed.

She was—to borrow the words she spoke to him after their first pairing—stuck with him.

Once Sebastian and the others arrived, Clara Kate joined her family within the forest located a couple of minutes from the maze. Despite its terrifying properties, the maze fascinated her. How had it been created? And why? The power required to generate the anti-flight barrier had to be significant. Also, where had all of the creatures inhabiting the maze come from?

The Yuki-onna had particularly troubled her. Seeing the child in the pale female’s arms left Clara Kate frozen and speechless. When the spirit’s eyes moved to her waist, Clara Kate somehow knew it sensed her pregnancy. The look on its face had her fearing the spirit would attack her, trying to harm the baby.

Fierce maternal protectiveness rushed through her then. She may have only known about the pregnancy for a very short time, but she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her unborn child.

That was when the spirit screamed and departed. Somehow, Clara Kate understood that the unknown woman hadn’t saved her own child, causing her devastated spirit to linger.

Hopefully that mother was at peace now, Clara Kate thought as she sat propped up against a tree. She rubbed a hand over her own flat belly and thought about what lie ahead for her. What would it be like to feel a new life growing inside her? Would she have a son or a daughter? Would he or she look like her or Ini-herit?

Glancing up, she realized the male in question watched her from where he sat a few feet away. He tilted his head, his eyes moving to her waist. When she realized it, her hand stilled.

What would he say when she told him? She thought she’d been prepared to find out when she was about to confess outside of the maze. Now, she hesitated. Could she really handle this?

Her attention shifted to the edge of the forest where Sophia and Quincy emerged. The two had been gone for a while. Judging by her cousin’s rosy cheeks and secretive smile, they’d been engaged in a romantic interlude. Clara Kate couldn’t blame them, but she could admit to envying them. Quincy treated Sophia like a goddess, and despite what they currently faced, her cousin hadn’t ever seemed so light of spirit.

A small commotion had Clara Kate looking around. She realized that the remainder of their group had arrived. She spotted Derian first. The large Mercesti male was hard to miss. He wore only a kilt and knee-high boots, and half of his face and upper body were covered in colorful tattoos. His dark hair was pulled back, reminding her of how Ini-herit often wore his hair on the human plane.

Derian’s mate, Melanthe, stood by his side. The former Lekwuesti currently wore her golden-brown hair in a braid secured tightly to her head. Her gown flattered her, even if it was partially covered by leather armor. Much like Derian wore his lochaber axe strapped to his back, she wore a bo attached to a special holster. The pair had been at the front of the line in their recent battle, and their efforts—as well as those of their followers—had been noted by everyone involved.

As the new arrivals entered the forest, Clara Kate got to her feet. She saw Sebastian approach Tiege, who held Ariana. As the elder’s power glowed, Clara Kate took the opportunity to move a little deeper into the forest for a couple minutes of privacy.

Once she saw to her personal needs, she took a moment in the rare solitude to center herself. She didn’t have just herself to think about anymore, a thought that terrified her. She knew allowing herself time to rest was important.

Just as she started back to camp, she caught a glimpse of color through the trees. She paused out of curiosity and spotted Tate and Zachariah. She realized that Tate was awake and now clean and clothed in an outfit unlike anything she’d worn in weeks. Her hair was done in its usual style, as well. When she heard Tate asking Zachariah if he’d selected the wardrobe items, she inferred from her cousin’s response that the Mercesti had.

The couple kissed, making Clara Kate turn her gaze, intending to give them privacy. But her heart ached for this kind of interaction. She found herself unable to walk away.

Thus, she witnessed their avowing. Her eyes filled over Zachariah’s heartfelt vow. She wouldn’t have dreamed him capable of such emotion. It made her so happy for Tate.

After the vows were exchanged, Clara Kate started to head back to the others. She noticed Ini-herit watching her from between two trees. Embarrassed over having been caught spying, she hurried closer to him and out of earshot of Tate and Zachariah.

“Do you need something?” she asked.

“I thought you might wish to continue our earlier conversation.”

Thinking about the shared love she had just witnessed between Sophia and Quincy and then Tate and Zachariah, she couldn’t find it in her to share her news with him. She knew how important it was. But her heart wasn’t ready.